Every so often, while scrolling through the endless stream of muted videos and digital noise on social media, a single frame stops you. A clip pops up, a simple text prompt invites you to tap for sound, and suddenly you’re caught in a soundscape that feels at once intimately nostalgic and wildly fresh.

That was my initiation into Stereo Roux—the solo project of Miami-based musician, producer, and songwriter Riccardo.

Listening to Stereo Roux carries the exact sensation of riding a bicycle through South Florida on a warm afternoon: constant momentum, an optimistic pulse, and a bright, forward-moving breeze. His music blends the infectious hooks of early 2000s indie-pop with lush, sun-drenched dream-pop textures. But what stands out most are the choruses—built like anthems made for room-wide sing-alongs and high-energy live shows.

In Conversation with Stereo Roux

Music in a heartbeat: I have to be honest—today I’m starting backwards. Normally I bombard my interviewees with questions right off the bat, but today I wanted to tell you my initial impressions first. Your music feels like this incredible mix of 2000s indie-pop energy and dream-pop—reminiscent of Beach Fossils, Hotel Ugly, Chicano Batman, Mac DeMarco, and even that Lindsey Buckingham production style on Fleetwood Mac records. But what really surprised me is that this is a complete one-man project. What made you decide to take the solo, self-produced route?

Stereo Roux: It might be a little bit of a selfish thing, honestly! I love hearing what people have to say about my music, but if someone were to tell me what to do with it while I’m making it, I really wouldn’t like that. When it comes to my own projects and my albums as a whole, I prefer having 100% of the decision-making control. I saw artists producing their own music as single-person projects, and that made me realize I could do it too.

MIHB: That creative drive makes sense—and music has been in your life for a really long time, right?

Stereo Roux: Exactly. My dad was pretty famous in Ecuador in the ’90s making rock music in Spanish. Ever since I was five, he pushed me to play instruments—first piano, then drums at eight. When we moved to Miami, I went to Miami Arts Charter for drums and choir. We had a little home studio that wasn’t getting used much, so every day after school, I’d take it over, record for hours on GarageBand, and learn how to layer tracks. Later on, to make sure nothing got lost between what was in my head and what reached the listener, I learned how to mix everything myself.

MIHB: You studied Music Business and Music Tech at Miami Dade College, and later earned your degree in marketing. Does knowing marketing and audience behavior influence the way you write, or do you keep that separate?

Stereo Roux : I try to keep it completely independent. I don’t let that guide my creation because I don’t want to make a commercial product. I don’t even listen to modern radio; I usually listen to throwback radio with older music. And I don’t let radio formatting or current tastes dictate my song lengths either—if I did, I wouldn’t be making five- or six-minute songs! My audience is small right now, but growing day by day. I’d rather experiment and step outside my comfortable box than cater to an algorithm.

MIHB: Speaking of stepping outside the box, you mentioned you’re mixing genres on your new material—specifically incorporating Latin influences and Spanish into your tracks, like in “Los Extraterrestres.” Can you tell us about that?

Stereo Roux: Coming from a Latin and Hispanic background, there’s so much music that isn’t necessarily explored when you’re writing primarily in English. I really want to write more songs in Spanish and bring those elements into my music. Right now, I’m finishing up a track called “Modern Romance.” It’s an indie bolero—mixing traditional bolero elements into an indie framework. It’s very different from anything I’ve done so far, and I’m super excited about it.

MIHB: An “indie bolero” called “Modern Romance”? That sounds amazing. Is that part of a larger project?

Stereo Roux: Yes! It’s for my second album, which is called Modern Times. The whole concept is an exploration of everything we see in front of us today—from politics to technology to modern love.

Earlier this year I released “Modern Melancholy.” This Friday I have a single coming out called “Binary Illusions,” which is a commentary on our relationship as humans with technology and how dependent we’ve become on it. Then there’s “Modern History,” which is a bit more politically inclined. The record as a whole is just my perspective on today’s world as it gets crazier and crazier.

MIHB: Looking ahead, what’s the next big hurdle for Stereo Roux?

Stereo Roux: The main obstacle with being a one-man band is wanting to play live shows when you don’t have a backing band! I’ve played locally with Sofar Sounds in Miami Beach, and earlier this year I was super lucky to perform in Madrid thanks to Raw Critters—an independent Spanish blog that champions indie music purely for the love of it, selecting 10 international bands each year to mentor and showcase across Spain. It was incredible, but now I really want to play out more locally and build that live energy here. I’m actively looking for session musicians in Miami who would be interested in joining me on stage.

Connect & Listen

• Listen To: “Modern Melancholy”, “Modern Romance”, “Los Extraterrestres” 
• New Single: “Binary Illusions” (Dropping this Friday!) 
• Calling Miami Musicians: Bassists, guitarists, or drummers interested in joining Stereo Roux for live performances in South Florida can connect via Instagram (@stereoroux). 

Music in a heartbeat is a multimedia project dedicated to documenting live shows, emerging artists, and independent soundscapes in the Miami music scene.